


the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

by luna_plath



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol, Drabble, F/M, Gen, Half-Blood Prince AU, One Shot, Underage Drinking, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-27
Updated: 2014-01-27
Packaged: 2018-01-10 05:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1155648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luna_plath/pseuds/luna_plath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during Slughorn’s Christmas party in HBP.  The prompt was, “To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for melusinahp's [One Prompt, Many Writers](http://melusinahp.livejournal.com/1045942.html) challenge.

The mead was bitter on Luna’s tongue, strong and flavorful and not at all like the wines her father had at home. Harry clinked his glass against hers and swallowed most of his in one gulp, his Adam’s apple visible in his throat.

Professor Slughorn’s party was full of people who didn’t normally talk to her, but Luna didn’t mind. She and Harry were partially hidden behind a gauzy emerald curtain, making it look like the party was happening at the bottom of the lake.

“Why did you sneak away earlier?” Luna asked. “Was there someone you didn’t want to talk to?”

Harry’s eyebrows rose, like he hadn’t expected her to notice. “I didn’t sneak anywhere.”

She sipped at the mead again but it was just as strong as before. “You left after Professor Snape did.”

Harry glanced around them before meeting her eyes, like he was checking for other listeners. “Malfoy is up to something, and Snape knows it.”

“It probably has to do with the Quintaped relocation plan the Ministry’s involved in. Daddy told me they want to use the Malfoy’s property to store them.”

Harry seemed to be considering what she’d said, or perhaps he was just trying to avoid being approached by another uninteresting person.

“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked, taking Luna by surprise.

“I don’t mind leaving,” she said, pouring the rest of her mead on top of one of Professor Slughorn’s potted plants.

Harry tucked his wand into his sleeve. “Okay, lets go.”

As they were leaving it looked like Slughorn wanted to speak more with Harry, but instead of shaking his hand Harry insisted he not get up. They passed by the refreshment table on their way out, but they had to wait for Dean and Ginny who were just ahead of them.

Instead of shadowing them upstairs Harry nodded to a different corridor. Luna followed him, noticing the unsteady way that Ginny was walking. Dean put his arm around her and Luna saw Harry purposefully turn away from them. Once they got around the corner the sounds from Professor Slughorn’s Christmas party all but disappeared, making Luna feel like they were the only ones in the castle. Harry stopped and reached inside his cloak.

“I nicked this right as we were leaving,” Harry said, pulling a bottle of wine from under his arm. “We don’t have to go back to the dormitories unless that’s what you’d like.”

An idea occurred to Luna that she hoped was adventurous enough for Harry Potter.

“I know where we can go.”

-

The first floor classroom was completely silent when they entered. As she had expected, Frienze was not in the room normally reserved for Divination. Luna found a soft bed of grass and stretched out, leaving space for Harry to sit beside her. He uncorked the wine bottle and took a long sip before flopping down on the patch of grass and handing it to her.

She sat up to drink the wine, noticing that the rim of the bottle was still warm from Harry’s mouth. That thought made a shiver run down her spine just as she swallowed the dry, heady liquid.

“Are you going home for Christmas?” Harry asked, surprising her. Luna figured he might want to ask more about the Quintaped relocation plan, but he seemed distracted. She sat the wine down and rolled on her back, her hands brushing the impossibly soft grass.

“Yes. It’ll be nice to just have a quiet Christmas away from school, don’t you think?”

Harry nodded, his arms behind his head. He turned to look at her and his glasses brightly reflected the starlight, startling them both. Luna reached up and gently took them off.

“Best remove them. You don’t want pixies thinking they can nest in your hair.”

That made one side of Harry’s mouth turn up, but she was only halfway joking. Luna folded the glasses and put them on a stone a few feet from their heads. She rolled on her side but a part of her was afraid to look Harry in the eye, to think about how her chest had started quivering the moment he looked at her, or how their hands were only a few inches apart.

“Thank you, Luna.”

“Whatever for?” she asked.

Harry shrugged, blades of enchanted grass catching in his hair. “For being my friend.”

**Fin.**


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